Social Change

Fostering Civic Engagement and Social Impact through the Arts

Arts and culture promote understanding and action on issues facing our communities and the world. Americans for the Arts’ commitment to creative social change is embodied by its Animating Democracy program, which strengthens the role of artists and cultural organizations as leaders and partners in civic engagement and social change.

FAQs

Social change is both the process and effect of efforts to positively alter societal conditions. It encompasses a range of outcomes—healing, increased awareness, attitudinal change, more diverse and increased civic participation, movement building, and policy change to name just a few.

Civic engagement encompasses the many ways that people may get involved in their communities to consider and address civic issues. Civic engagement can be a measure or a means of social change. In arts-based civic engagement, the creative process and resulting art work/experience can provide a key focus, catalyst, or space for civic participation, whether it is becoming better informed or actively contributing to the improvement of one’s neighborhood, community, and nation.

From urban interventions to youth development through theater to public art that explores our relationship to the environment to cultural organizing—creative social change work encompasses the myriad ways that the arts are being activated to engage people and make impact. Animating Democracy’s LANDSCAPE gives a big picture of individuals and organizations doing and supporting arts for change work.

Looking for ways to build evidence of your impact? Check out the Social Impact Indicators section of Animating Democracy’s website for ways to express common social and civic outcomes. See how to translate outcomes to evidence you can measure. Learn different data collection strategies including how to effectively collect and analyze qualitative data.

Animating Democracy is a program of Americans for the Arts that inspires, promotes, and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to civic and social change. Working locally, nationally, and across sectors, Animating Democracy creates useful resources for artists, cultural, and community leaders, and funders; builds knowledge about quality engagement and evaluation; and brings national visibility to arts for change work.

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News

Americans for the Arts has announced the New Community Visions Initiative, part of the large-scale Transforming America’s Communities Through the Arts, a $10.5 million suite of programs set to generate national dialogue and engage key stakeholders over the next three years. The New Community Visions Initiative will explore the future of local arts in America and the role of community-based arts that enable organizations, funders, cultural institutions, and artists to shape healthier communities over time.

Editor’s Note: Lucy Wang is the 2015 recipient of the NABE Scholarship, presented annually by Americans for the Arts and the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) Foundation to a student of both economics and the...

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Strengthening Communities Through The Arts

Women & Creativity: Harwood Art Center & Littleglobe

Learn how a month long program celebrating the work of women in the creative fields has impacted the community of Albuquerque.

Many people know that March is Women’s History Month, but how many arts organizations succeed in engaging their whole community in the celebration? Every March, two organizations in Albuquerque New Mexico, Harwood Art Center and Littleglobe, do just that.

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Americans for the Arts serves, advances, and leads the network of organizations and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain, and support the arts in America. Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.